little match girl
by astralCartographer
Summary: Left by Hans to freeze to death, Anna finds a small box with several matchsticks. AU, based on the short story of the same title by Hans Christian Andersen.


**this fic is killing me. im dissatisfied with it, and it's so short. goddamn.**

**(also let's pretend there wasn't any firewood in the fireplace because it would just ruin the story)**

**(ps its not elsanna but if you wanna read it like its elsanna then yeah ok whatever do what you want)**

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The life of Princess Anna of Arendelle was easy to sum up: lonely and shut out.

Anna heard Hans lock the door from the other side. _Click._

There's one more door shut in her face.

"Please, somebody help," she pounded at the door weakly. A shiver ran throughout her body- Anna fell back and huddled herself together. The room was _cold_, cold like the harsh breath of winter, and it was _dark_, dark like the cloak of Death himself. The rosemåling and tapestries on the walls were barely visible. It felt like icicles would appear under her nose any minute.

Was she really that desperate for love that she accepted a marriage proposal right then and there?

The answer was yes. And now her heart was broken.

She wished that Kristoff were here. Or Olaf, or even Sven would make her feel better. Anna didn't want to be alone. She never wanted to be alone, literally freezing to death, in this brumal, dim room.

It had all come so quickly: The open gates, the coronation, Hans, the engagement, the secret ice powers, Kristoff, _Elsa_-

_Elsa. _

Anna's thoughts shifted to what Hans had said.

_He's going to kill Elsa._

With a weak turn of her head, she gazed at the window. The storm outside was fiercer than ever.

"Elsa," whispered Anna. "Where are you?"

An image of Hans about to strike Elsa in the midst of the snowstorm popped up in Anna's mind, and her brows furrowed together with worry.

With the little strength she had left, she pulled herself off the ground. She had to find her sister. She_ had_ to.

She made it to the window and tried to open it by hammering the glass, panting in distress. Maybe, if she could just break this window, she could escape and look for her sister. The window remained intact, and Anna staggered and fell backwards into a corner.

On the floor, she pulled her knees to her chest and thought about Elsa. Was she still in the mountains, or has she come back to the castle? Could she be out in the storm right now?

"There really is no way out of here," Anna leaned her head against the wall. Her body shuddered. "M-Maybe I could warm myself first..."

Once she lifted herself up, she scanned the room, holding onto the wall for support. And then she saw it- a small box on the mantel.

"Please have matchsticks inside, please have matchsticks inside..." Anna opened the box. In it were around six or seven matchsticks. "Bingo!"

Anna dropped to the side of the fireplace. After several attempts, she finally lit one of the matchsticks and immediately covered the flame with her hand. The little flame burned like a star in dark room. It was like she was holding a candle in her hands. Finally feeling a little warmth, Anna smiled with relief.

She closed her eyes and kept the flame close to her. Elsa's power had really hit her hard- Anna was sure her hair was completely white now and, when she touched her face, she felt delicate frost patterns on her cheeks.

She had been so stupid and naive- everything that happened was all her fault. She should have talked with Elsa privately like she had requested during the coronation. She shouldn't have confronted her in the middle of the ballroom. Now the kingdom was frozen and everyone was freezing.

When Anna opened her eyes, the room felt warmer. And brighter. Anna heard the sound of a warm, cackling fire- and when she checked the fireplace, there actually was one.

"F-Fire!" Anna reached out her hand towards the great flame. For a moment, the room was welcoming instead of the frigid prison it was. How did this fire just appear, Anna wondered, when there was no firewood in the fireplace?

"I should just go with it," said Anna. "It feels _so good_."

The lit matchstick in her cold fingers went out, and so did the fire in the fireplace. The room returned to its frozen state, and Anna only had the burnt remains of the match in her hand.

"_Oh..._"

Now Anna was sure Elsa's power was spreading throughout her body. It must be reaching her mind, since she was surely hallucinating.

The princess's face fell as she drew back her hand. She shivered once more and brought out another match from the box. In a swift movement she struck the matchstick against the wall.

While the match was lit, the howl of the storm that came from the window could no longer be heard. When Anna turned her head to the window, she heard birds chirping.

The view of the window from the floor was not very clear, but Anna saw that the winter storm was gone, the leaves on the trees were green, and the sky was blue like a forget-me-not. Anna's mind went to Olaf- if summer was truly back, would he have melted by now?

The matchstick went out, and the scene shifted back to the cruel storm.

Anna hugged her knees to her chest. Her fingertips were starting to turn blue. Coldness had enveloped the room again, and with a trembling hand Anna picked one matchstick with care and struck it against the wall, right away holding her other hand over the small flame. She closed her eyes again.

The picture of Elsa, wearing her blue dress and her hair in a single braid, came to Anna's mind. She was smiling, and beautiful, and, as Elsa had put it, _free_.

Anna wished she was more like her sister. It wasn't the powers or her desire for isolation, but to be graceful. Elegant. To find that happiness and liberation to be yourself and to _love_ yourself Elsa found in her ice castle.

But Elsa seemed happy during the ball, too, even if it was for a while. The scent of chocolates and image of royals mingling and dancing were still fresh in Anna's mind: the dance with the duke, the date with Hans, wanting for the night to never end...

Anna opened her eyes and lifted her head. Standing before her was her sister, brilliant and dignified as ever. She was in the ice gown Anna had seen her in in the mountains, looking at her with tender eyes-they were so_ blue_-and a sincere smile.

"Elsa!" cried Anna. She wouldn't let the match's flame die this time. She was most probably only an illusion like the others, but the sight of her sister all right and okay brought tears of joy and relief to Anna's eyes.

Elsa knelt down in front of her sister and cupped her face in her hands. "Shh," she wiped a tear off Anna's face. "Shh, Anna, it's okay, it's okay."

"Elsa," said Anna.

The matchstick's flame was getting smaller, and Elsa was starting to fade.

"No," muttered Anna. "No, you're not going to leave like the fire and the summer!"

She struck another match before the one in her hand could burn out. Elsa remained in her place.

"Please don't go away," said Anna. "I don't want to be alone here again." Elsa only nodded.

Every time a match almost went out, Anna would light another one. One after the other the matchsticks went, and slowly the little box was emptied.

Anna held the final match in her cold, blue hand. She kept her gaze on Elsa. She was going to freeze in this room, beside the fireplace, and it was inevitable.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't save you," Anna said in a hushed tone.

The light died.

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The newly-proclaimed King of Arendelle unlocked the door of the room. Even though it was not locked anymore, it took some time to push open the door because of the ice around the door frame. He'll have to ask the staff if they could clean it up.

Once he had gotten inside, he scanned the room. It was hard to see in the dark, and it was freezing.

He found the princess's frozen body beside the fireplace. Her face looked sad and soft, and there were burnt matches around her and on her skirt. She must have tried to keep herself warm. He knelt down beside her.

"Thank you for staying put, Anna," said Hans. "If you hadn't remained, my plans would not have gone so smoothly."

He picked up the matches and set them aside on the mantel. "I'll get Kai or somebody else to put you somewhere. Don't worry, I'll tell him to be careful." he patted Anna's solid frozen head. Hans frowned.

"I'm sorry it had to end this way for you," he said. "You weren't a bad person, even if you were really stupid. I'll arrange a funeral in a few days. Your people mourn for you."

Hans walked to the door and his hand hovered over the knob. He turned back to Anna.

"I'll treat them well, Anna," he told her. "I'll be a fair ruler. Arendelle will flourish." He exited and closed the door.

"And I'll prove my brothers wrong."


End file.
